National GeographicSome people are taller than others. Others have wider hips, lighter hair, longer toes, or flatter feet. No one disputes that our genes help determine how we look. But what about intelligence — is it an inherited trait?
And as our ability to tinker with the genomes of human embryos comes closer to reality, will creating babies with enhanced intelligence be far behind?READ MORE

News-Medical.netWhitehead Institute researchers have created a map of the DNA loops that comprise the three-dimensional structure of the human genome and regulate gene expression in human embryonic stem cells and adult cells. The location of genes and regulatory elements within this chromosomal framework could help scientists better navigate their genomic research, establishing relationships between mutations and disease development.READ MORE

AIDS Healthcare FoundationFounded in 1987, AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the largest specialized provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the nation. Our mission is to provide cutting edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of ability to pay. Through our healthcare centers, pharmacies, health plan, research and other activities, AHF provides access to the latest HIV treatments for all who need them.READ MORE

POLITICOThe technology is called CRISPR/Cas9. It is a modest acronym for an enormously powerful new molecular tool that, depending how it is used, could change the future of the human race. Using this we can now edit — that is, alter — the genes in any organism, including human beings, with unprecedented speed, efficiency and precision. Deployed in people, it affords the living the promise of amelioration or cure of diseases in which genes are causal or complicit.READ MORE

Phy.orgInside and outside of the classroom, MIT professor Joseph Jacobson has become a prominent figure in — and advocate for — the emerging field of synthetic biology. As head of the Molecular Machines group at the MIT Media Lab, Jacobson's work has focused on, among other things, developing technologies for the rapid fabrication of DNA molecules.READ MORE

Scientific AmericanKannapolis, North Carolina, is a desolate town, plagued by unemployment since the main employer, a textile mill, suddenly closed its doors eleven years ago. In the aftermath of this shutdown, an elderly billionaire, David Murdock, who is curious about longevity and its genetic secrets, turned an enormous piece of land into a lucrative biotech complex. Not so bad, you might think, to revive the local economy, but the new campus mostly employed highly skilled scientists from renowned universities, not Kannapolis.READ MORE

HIT ConsultantSAP SE announced SAP Foundation for Health and the SAP Medical Research Insights solutions built on the SAP HANA platform to realize the full potential of personalized medicine.
By unlocking patient data and uncovering insights in real time, the new solutions reveal the value of patient data, from biomedical data to EMRs to clinical trials. They facilitate data integration and provide real-time analysis and reporting that together lead to improved personalized medicine and patient care. READ MORE

HealthDay News Stem cell transplants seem no better than conventional therapy for Crohn's disease that hasn't responded to other treatments, a new study finds.
The European study also found that for patients who cannot undergo surgery for the condition, stem cell transplants resulted in serious side effects, including infections.READ MORE

MedscapeA stem cell –
derived small molecule, NSI-189, taken orally, has demonstrated efficacy in a small number of patients with major depressive disorder.
The molecule is the first potential antidepressant agent that does not act on the monoamines but promotes the growth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus, lead investigator Maurizio Fava, M.D., executive vice chair, Department of Psychiatry, and executive director, Clinical Trials Network and Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.READ MORE

Fox NewsA former Food and Drug Administraton official contends the agency's oversight is getting in the way of Apple's ability to develop medical products on its iPhone and Apple Watch.
In a post this month on American Enterprise Institute website, Dr. Scott Gottlieb argues that the company has worked to avoid FDA oversight, limiting the potential of its health-related offerings.READ MORE

CIOWhile over $28 billion has been spent so far on implementing health information technology, particularly electronic health record ystems, these systems are not interoperable, meaning that information does not flow seamlessly between them. Earlier this year, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information technology released a report on health information blocking that has been undermining healthcare reform and called for congressional intervention to address the issue.READ MORE

AJMCCMS’s Medicare Shared Savings, or accountable care organization, program faces considerable challenges. Most immediately, the 2014 results released by CMS in September show the ACO program’s performance was actually worse than in 2013. Once again, approximately one-fourth of ACO providers received earned shared savings, with the majority of savings concentrated among a small number of participants. READ MORE

Health IT AnalyticsAccountable care organizations must take the patient experience into account when designing flexible opportunities for personalized care. While the growth rate of accountable care organizations has slowed over the past two years, and despite several departures from Medicare’s Pioneer ACO program, approximately 70 percent of the U.S. population live in areas served by ACOs. READ MORE

ABC NewsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment that partially alleviates one of the most striking effects of chemotherapy: hair loss.
The treatment is called the Dignitana DigniCap Cooling System and consists of a computer-controlled device that circulates cold liquid to a cooling cap worn during chemotherapy treatment.READ MORE

Reuters via Fox NewsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Baxalta Inc.'s Vonvendi, making it the first engineered protein-based treatment for the world's most common inherited bleeding disorder.
Vonvendi treats Willebrand disease, which is caused by the deficiency or defect in von Willebrand factor, a protein that is critical for blood clotting.READ MORE

By Scott E. Rupp In another round of political posturing against the Affordable Care Act, the Senate recently passed legislation that would repeal large swaths of the healthcare law. The bill, called Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, won House approval in October. But the vote has no chance of moving forward while President Barack Obama is in office. The bill does, however, set the stage for the Republicans' agenda should they regain control of the White House.
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ForbesIn the good old days health insurance was an irritant but not a nightmare. If you had high premiums, you had low deductibles. And if you had high deductibles, you had low premiums. Now we have high premiums and high deductibles. Sweet deal.
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Kaiser Health News via USA TodayA health law insurance program that was expected to boost consumer choice and competition on the marketplaces has slipped off course and is so far failing to meet expectations.
Since just a few insurers, or sometimes just one, dominate the market for individuals and small businesses in some states, the law sought to increase competition in those areas by calling for “multi-state” health plans that would be offered by some insurers.READ MORE

Seattle Genetics Announces FDA Regular Approval of ADCETRIS® for Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients at High Risk of Relapse or Progression. Click here to view more information.

We wanted you to be aware that the FDA has granted accelerated approval of IBRANCE® (palbociclib) for the treatment of postmenopausal women with ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Click here to see the press release!

Sandoz, a Novartis company, announced today that Zarxio(TM) (filgrastim-sndz) is now available in the United States. Zarxio is the first biosimilar approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the first to launch in the US. Please click here for more information.
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